It's still too hot to cook, but I had fresh vegetables and I'm going on vacation with the guy Tuesday morning so I had no choice. Summer garden omelette, macaroni salad (store bought), and strawberries and cream.

I'm sure we'll have a fabulous time. We're going somewhere on the east coast, but he's keeping it a surprise until I pick up my plane ticket... and even then, where we're really going is about 2 hours from where my plane lands so I still won't know. All I care is we get to spend 11 uninterrupted days together without doing shows or visiting friends or family!

Still using up produce. I had a very veggie bag salad, to which I added the last of my Bibb lettuce and grape tomatoes, as well as a couple of cans of tuna. Topped with zesty Italian dressing.

NQV... I asked Mindy, my niece what she'd like. I told her we could go anywhere she wanted. I was imagining a nice, sit down restaurant. You know.. they're also called full service around here. I do a lot of take out because my friends either don't want to eat out or can't due to illness.

We went to Tito's Tacos!

I had my two tacos without cheese, she had a bean and cheese burrito and we split a guacamole between us and the gentleman that sat next to us on the outdoor table.

There we were... Mindy, Marlene and our new friend... Matt. Three M's.

It was his first time at Tito's and he bought one of everything except for the guacamole which he forgot. Unfortunately he was under-impressed by the taco. I kept telling him... Put salsa on it! Scrape off the cheese and load it up with salsa! We had a nice talk with him. He was from San Francisco and was pretending to be WanderingJew. He had a list of places he was going to visit around Los Angeles!

For dinner tonight I succumbed to the latest El Polo Loco commercial and picked up their grilled chicken dinner with their 3 new sauces. Very good for take out food!

Mar, I miss El Pollo Loco, I ate there regularly when I lived in California. Sadly haven't had any in fifteen years. I do get good fried chicken from our little groceries hot deli, way better than KFC.

Chefbub, you'd be a bit disappointed and mad at them now. They've changed the way the cut the chickens. The breasts and thighs are now cut so that not only are they smaller, the bones are cut proving they are smaller.

I'm assuming that's where they're getting the chicken meat for their salads, tacos and maybe the soup.

It still tastes great but I now need a 3 piece meal when a 2 piece used to be enough. Oh! The flour tortillas are now smaller and you only get 2, not 3.

Cheated!

I went there because they've been advertising 3 new sauces. I forget the names but they involve mango, habanero and chipotle. They charged 59¢ per tiny cup of sauce! The chipotle was just barbecue sauce but the other 2 were good. I would not give them the satisfaction of getting the extra small change from me the next time. Their regular salsa choices are just fine and delicious.

mar52NQV... I asked Mindy, my niece what she'd like. I told her we could go anywhere she wanted. I was imagining a nice, sit down restaurant. You know.. they're also called full service around here. I do a lot of take out because my friends either don't want to eat out or can't due to illness.

We went to Tito's Tacos!

You couldn't convince her to choose Henry's instead?

Last night I made alfredo sauce with garlic, sauteed mushrooms, and grilled chicken (a couple of the Italian marinated breasts from the store) and served it over mostaccioli. Everyone liked it, including our 15-month-old grandson and his notoriously picky mother, so I guess I did good.

mar52NQV... I asked Mindy, my niece what she'd like. I told her we could go anywhere she wanted. I was imagining a nice, sit down restaurant. You know.. they're also called full service around here. I do a lot of take out because my friends either don't want to eat out or can't due to illness.

We went to Tito's Tacos!

You couldn't convince her to choose Henry's instead?

Last night I made alfredo sauce with garlic, sauteed mushrooms, and grilled chicken (a couple of the Italian marinated breasts from the store) and served it over mostaccioli. Everyone liked it, including our 15-month-old grandson and his notoriously picky mother, so I guess I did good.

Mar, I hate when restaurants do that. Our local did the same thing - started charging for sauces and gravy that used to be free. I found the penny-pinching offensive.

Tonight's dinner was Greek salad, roast potatoes, corn fritters and ling (cod) baked in foil, topped with some cute little medallions of herb butter Woolworths packed in with the fish. The fish was bland. The rest was good.

ChrisOCCharging for sauce!!!There is a place near me that is famous for their wings. They are great, but they charge 50 cents for the celery and 50 cents for blue cheese sauce that is mostly sour cream.

Charging for something that should be included in the price pisses me off to no end. The one burger place here gives you a one ounce cup of ketchup with a $2.50 (very small) order of frozen crinkle cut fries extra two ounce cup is .50. So a basic 1/4 lb burger with fries and can soda is over $12!

ChrisOCCharging for sauce!!!There is a place near me that is famous for their wings. They are great, but they charge 50 cents for the celery and 50 cents for blue cheese sauce that is mostly sour cream.

Wings should ALWAYS come w/ Celery and Blue Cheese...they also used to include Carrot sticks. Don't even get me started with the question, "You want Ranch w/ the Wings?"

EXACTLY! Charging for sauce and "trimming" the chicken pieces is insulting and to me sort of criminal. If I order a thigh, I want the entire thigh as it's been for as long as I've known. I want to see each end of the thigh bone! I love sucking on those tiny breast bones. When they're cut down the center and you only get one side that's just wrong!

Not sure what dinner will be tonight. It's in the high 90s on the coast! We were not built for this kind of heat. Either was I!

ScreamingChickenYep, and the chow mein still comes in 2 separate cans that're taped together. When I was growing up my mom would buy Chun King, but I think La Choy may have bought them or the label some time ago.

Remember those double cans so well when I was a kid. Haven't had that stuff in 50 years !!

We had a late supper as the wife was judging beers for the Brewers Cup down at Sun King in Indy. We stopped in to Portillo's in Fishers on the way home and had some of their nice dipped Italian Beef sandwiches and chocolate malts. My wife also tried one of their tamales and I thought it was pretty good. Better than many I've had around here. I'm glad they've started staying open later, too. It helps beat the usual crowds!

Tonight will be left-over fried chicken that I made yesterday with a big pan of Southern Mac and cheese. My daughter and her fiance came down from Boston so since I know her man LOVES fried chicken, I brined some in buttermilk and Sriracha and some spices Saturday night into yesterday and got out the cast iron pan and Crisco and fried some up. Came out amazing.

I only make this dish maybe once or twice a year and it still never ceases to amaze me how crispy and yummy it is now that I use Crisco instead of only vegetable oil. I also add a little cornstarch to the dredge. The mac and cheese was a new recipe to me. I used eggs instead of making a roux for the binder. Absolutely delicious. I used 5 cheeses and it came out really good. It has been really hot in CT so leftovers are great. I will only have the oven on for a short time to heat the chicken.